Archive for the ‘Choosing My Religion’ Category

With all the violence going on in the Middle East, people believe Muslims are justified in this behavior. But they also point out that Christianity has its own form of jihad. I responded to this claim last year.

Like this:

There were 500 Muslims at the Olympics in London this summer who were leading people to recite the shahada (the Christian equivalent of the sinner’s prayer). They even claimed their efforts were more peaceful and personable than the Christians who were there preaching.

Here’s the key question (which the late Walter Martin used to ask): “Are you willing to do for the truth what the cults do for a lie?” Well, Islam is not a cult as we or Walter Martin defined it, but the point still applies. Muslims don’t have the truth and yet look at what they’re doing. Now, I know there are many Christians reaching out to non-believers so I’m not ignoring that. But sometimes seeing videos like this gets me more motivated because it helps me see what’s at stake.

Like this:

For the final Mormon challenge this month, here’s an objection I’ve heard many times from missionaries:

Your image of God as being a different kind of being from us is so depressing! How can you ever hope to become like Him if you’re not literally His child?

This one may sound strange to you because there are a few Mormon ideas behind this challenge, and you may not be aware of all of them. What kind of questions would you ask your Mormon friend to draw out the differences between your beliefs and explain your answer? Why does our view of God’s nature give us joy, whereas the same view would give your Mormon friend hopelessness? The answer to this question goes to the heart of the difference between our gospels.

Like this:

The Book of Abraham is found in the Pearl of Great Price, one of the four Mormon sources of scripture. Joseph Smith claimed to translate it from an ancient Egyptian scroll. This is a great video exposing Smith’s fraudulent claims:

Traditional Christians believe that all you have to do is believe in Jesus, and it doesn’t matter what sins you commit because your faith is all that matters. But in Matthew 19:17, Jesus says, “[I]f you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” The Bible simply does not teach “salvation by faith alone.”

I used the term “salvation” in this challenge as we would use it (being forgiven and reconciled to God here and now, and then being together with Him in the afterlife), but technically, a Mormon would deny “exaltation by faith alone.” He would agree with you that “salvation” is by grace, through faith, but when Mormons use the term “salvation,” they’re usually referring only to our resurrection (which doesn’t require works) or the idea that Jesus gave us a plan of salvation by which we can progress through our works. They do believe that works are required to make it to the highest level of heaven to be with the Father. When you’re in conversation with your Mormon friend, always define the terms you’re using to be sure you’re talking about the same thing!